What does it take to lead?

Leadership is a choice. You have to choose to lead. Not everyone can be a leader. Because it’s not an easy choice to make. Most men are not willing to lead because when you choose to lead, you realize it’s hard as fuck.

Your job is to make sure that you make the choice every day. Not one day, every single day. When you choose to lead, life is going to try to knock you down every day. 

What’s stopping you from making the choice to lead? Write it down.

Doubt, fear, and insecurity are major reasons why people don't lead. Men were born to lead. You were chosen to lead. You are the head of the table. Most men are not leaders because they don’t think they have the power to choose. They doubt themselves so the choice is already made for them.

When you realize that you were chosen to lead, you should ask a different question: What does it take to lead? But remember, just because you choose to lead, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy. You have to ask what needs to happen to overcome adversity and get to the next level.

1- Pay the price

Stop negotiating with life. If you want to be a leader, you have to stop negotiating and pay the price. You are the biggest asset for your family and your business. Most men would rather spend time and money building their businesses instead of building themselves. If you don’t pay the price, someone else will. Usually, it’s the people you love. 

2- Change your identity. 

Your results in your life are a reflection of your identity. Your car, your style, your health, your relationship, and nearly everything in your life is a reflection of that identity. Every action you take reflects how you see yourself. The solution to your problems can only come when you see beyond them. If you don’t see beyond where you are, you will continue to dig a bigger hole. If you see who you are becoming, you shift your mindset. You have to change your identity in order to believe you can dig yourself out of the hole. You must step outside yourself to find the solutions. You can’t change your situation if you refuse to change yourself.

3- Fight for a cause

If you don’t fight for a cause, you’re going to be grinding every day. A man without a vision will perish. But a man who finds a cause worth dying for will leave a legacy. A warrior loves to go into the battlefield, but he eventually gets killed in the battle. But the king will leave a legacy and live forever. The warrior is only thinking of himself; the king makes things better for everyone around him. Find a cause that is worth dying for. When you do, you will do whatever it takes to make it happen.

4- Stand for truth.

What is your truth? The more you hide from the truth, the bigger the lies get. Fear is a lie that you believe. The truth is painful sometimes. When you seek the truth, you will be free. I know this firsthand because I lied to everyone around me - my wife, my kids, my employees - because I didn’t want to show weakness. The more I ran away, the bigger the lie became. When I started working on myself and faced the lies, I realized that when I faced the lie, I had one of two outcomes: 1- I realized I wasn’t as fucked as I thought I was and that made me happy; 2- I was disappointed by my actions. Either way, I chose to seek the truth and do something about my situation. The truth is that you have everything you need to level up. Life is giving you what you need. But the lie is that you don’t have what it takes to get to the next level. If you believe in those lies, eventually they become your reality.

5- Know your circle.

There are takers in life. There will be takers in your business, your family, and your friends. The takers are looking for a shortcut or a handout. A taker has no boundaries; they take until you have nothing left. When you enable takers, you don’t want to tell them the truth. You don’t stop giving because you want to be liked. You have to stand up for your truth.

There are followers. They’ll go to war with you and conquer the world with you. They will follow you as long as it’s convenient. Followers are all about WIFM - What’s in it for me? They look for the transaction. If you understand that they are looking for a transaction, that’s okay, because it’s your job to convert them into a leader.

There are leaders. Leaders go all in and pay the price. They aren’t there out of convenience, they’re there to help you build. They don’t negotiate because they know that life is going to give them what they give life. They want to contribute. They focus on the transformation. A leader is willing to pay the price. They give freely. But when they feel like they are being taken advantage of, they stop giving, and they don’t take it personally. 

Every man has a choice: Choose to fight and find your truth or run away and keep lying. Leadership is your birthright. But you must own it, you must want it, and you must fight for it. It’s a daily battle that every man is going to have to face.

For more insights and to connect with Raul Villacis, check out his Youtube channel and other social media platforms.

"Learn it, live it, love life." - Raul Villacis

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